LonelinessHaving found no companion
who has travelled at least as far as ourselves,
it is better to go alone than to accompany those
who remain irresolute.
Dhammapada v. 61
Until we have looked closely into the actual experience of loneliness, this painful feeling always appears as an enemy, showing us up as a failure. From the perspective of unawareness this life-denying sensation seems only to indicate how far we have gone wrong. From the perspective of wise reflection however, this very same experience lights up the direction we need to go if we want freedom. Suffering is a message; it is not an indictment against us. The feeling of loneliness is like a narrow doorway that we must go through to be free of the confines of the prison of self obsession. It is for paying attention to, not for running away from.
With Metta, Bhikkhu Munindo
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